ABSTRACT

The jurisprudence conceming the supply of medicine is an important issue for the management of pharmaceutical services in Brazil. This paper aimed at presenting the jurisprudence from the Court of Justice of the State of Rio de Janeiro, focusing on the term ‘essential’ as included on lawsuits demanding access to medicines. It also examined the utilization of this concept by public health and by the Judicial System by means of a qualitative analysis of final judicial sentences of the appellate courts. Aspects related to the right to health and to the practice of accessing Justice were observed. Main components of these sentences and the main issues that they present on the essentiality of medicines for the maintenance of life and on the absolute sovereignty of the medical prescription as the sole scientific basis for the judicial decision were scrutinized.

KEYWORDS:
Judicial Decisions; Right to health; Pharmaceutical services; Essential Medicine; Unified Health System